MONAGAS

state, northeastern Venezuela, bounded northeast by the Gulf of Paria, southeast by the Orinoco River, and north and west by the states of Sucre and Anzotegui. It has an area of 11,158 sq mi (28,900 sq km). Except for a coastal range in the north and the marshes of the Orinoco Delta, Monagas is a land of savannas and is typical Llanos (plains) country. Cattle raising is dominant, although corn (maize), coffee, cotton, rice, tobacco, wheat, and cassava are grown in the northern uplands. The discovery of petroleum in 1928 brought profound changes to Monagas. Quiriquire, in the jungle near the state capital, Maturn (q.v.), was the first field opened, and it has been among the richest in the Orinoco Basin. There are more than 100 oil camps stretching over an enormous area; by the early 1970s those in Monagas accounted for about 5 percent of Venezuela's oil production. The oil of the eastern Llanos is pumped through several pipelines north to Caripito and to Puerto La Cruz, on the Caribbean, for refining and shipping. Most of the natural gas from the wells, formerly flared off, is now sent to Caracas, La Guaira, and Valencia for use in homes and industry. Pop. (1983) 406,467.